Recently the Senate slashed President Bush’s proposed tax cut, which is great news for veterans, who would have suffered if the administration’s proposal had gone through.
According to The Washington Post, the leaders of America’s most prominent veterans’ organizations say that President Bush is failing to honor past commitments to military men and women.
Bush is sending service men and women to war in Iraq and yet he wants to cut veterans’ benefits, mostly health benefits, even though their benefits already have been cut.
Doesn’t the president care about the veterans? What in the world could he be thinking? Tax cuts for the wealthy possibly?
In a Washington Post article by Dana Milbank, a senior administration official said he “wouldn’t dispute” that the wealthy would get a greater percentage of the tax plan’s benefits.
That sums it up.
Veterans should be getting more benefits, especially during a time of war, but they are receiving less.
According to Denise Smith Amos in an article in The Cincinnati Enquirer, more than 200,000 veterans seeking health care in January waited more than six months.
More than 6.5 million veterans already are enrolled in the VA health system.
The VA is budgeted to provide care for only 4.8 million patients in 2004. This does not include the estimated 250,000 American troops currently stationed in Iraq.
One state the federal governement should take a look at is Wisconsin.
Wisconsin has a program that allows former soldiers to “browse information on benefits like fruit at a supermarket,” according to an Associated Press article by Kevin Orland. In fact, the programs are called, “Supermarkets of Veterans Benefits.”
This helps veterans greatly. It allows them to see what benefits are out there for them.
According to the AP article, Wisconsin is ranked 37th in veterans receiving federal health benefits and 42nd in the nation in percentage of veterans receiving money for service-related injuries, yet it is doing more than other states.
The Bush administration needs to treat the veterans of America with the respect, honor, and dignity that they deserve and not even think about cutting their benefits.